Tooling is cool.

Introducing Timesetter 5000.

One of the most annoying parts of making Solid State Watch is having to set the time for each F-91W watch module. Colin (our beloved studio assistant) does this step right before the watches are cast into resin. The process is annoying. You might have to wait up to 59 seconds to zero the second digits. And even after lots of practice, it still takes a good amount of paying attention.

For a while CW has wanted to make a rig to make this easier. A camera to read the current time on the module, an interface to set the desired time in UTC, and electronics to do the magic. Last week it happened.

Timesetter 5000 is a rig that automatically sets the time and UTC offset of Casio F-91Ws.

The watch module snaps into a custom pogo pin jig to connect to the watch's pcb. A camera reads the display, a Raspberry Pi senses each segment to interpret the watch display time. We select a time zone on the touchscreen and the rest is taken care of in software and electronics, with each pogo pin selectively grounding buttons on the module. Once it’s done, it checks itself and gives a green light if everything looks good.

It's pretty amazing that we live in a time where we can so easily make bespoke devices to make processes slightly easier and more enjoyable. Whether it's a 3D printed jig to aim a screwdriver, or a more in-depth interface for a watch module. The time required and effort to build tooling at small scales is really low. And tooling is cool. So cool.

Timesetter 5000

Yesterday a 12 year old kid at a gym peaked my laptop screen and asked me about Timesetter 5000. I told him what it was and he asked why 5000? I laughed and said it used to be 2000 but now it's 5000.

Timesetter 5000 lives in this box.

Spicy love.

Our new ball and socket style mortar and pestle got a lot of love this week. Thank you!